Asia Cup 2024: India U19 is playing against Bangladesh U19 in the ultimate final match of the Asia Cup 2024 at the historic Dubai International Cricket Stadium. Defending champions Bangladesh are resisting stiffly to hold their title with an assertive Indian U19 team.
India won the toss and chose to field first
India chose to field first after winning the toss for the final, which helped them exert pressure on Bangladesh right at the beginning. MS James and Rizan Hossan came good for Bangladesh as they steadied a fragile batting order, taking the fight right until the end. Hossan hit 47 off 65 deliveries, while James contributed 40 off 67 balls. That partnership proved to be their savior before Bangladesh was bowled out in the last over of their innings.
After this testing total set by Bangladesh, the hope of India was for a healthy and positive beginning with their in-form top-order batsmen in the run-chase. But things were not so in the beginning. Both Indian openers lost in quick succession, followed by C. Andre Siddarth in no time, who made India reach a scary 44/3 before crossing the 12th over of their innings.
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Critical Mishap by Bangladesh in the field- Comedy of Errors
At this crucial juncture, Indian skipper Mohammad Amaan and Karthikeya KP came in to stabilize the innings and consolidate a much-needed partnership for India. Their increasing association gave some hope to the Indian camp, but Bangladesh ensured that they were not handed over the initiative by committing a major fielding error.
— Sunil Gavaskar (@gavaskar_theman) December 8, 2024
On the last delivery of the 13th over, Iqbal Hossain Emon delivered an outright full delivery to skipper Mohammad Amaan to push it towards the leg side while trying to push for a single. The fielder ran in to stop the ball, but a moment of hesitation between the two Indian batters saw both of them end up on the same side of the pitch.
Bangladesh had a golden opportunity to dismiss a key batter through a run-out, but their throw missed the mark, allowing India to take three runs instead.
This blunder proved costly for Bangladesh, as it gave India much-needed breathing space and allowed the partnership between Amaan and Karthikeya KP to gain momentum.
